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With a 2.5% population increase during the 2007-8 fiscal year, Utah is the fastest-growing state in the country. This fact spent a few days in the national headlines, but what most people still don’t know is that this makes two years in a row.

After some cities challenged census results, Utah’s 2006-7 growth charted at 3.2%, topping Nevada’s 2.8 by a large margin.

What all this means for Utah real estate is that development will continue and the demand for housing will remain strong.

Long term projections mentioned in a Salt Lake Tribune article highlight the need for careful planning now as Davis County is projected to run out of farmland by 2020 and state traffic will double by 2040.

Decades ago, many Utahns felt a minor self-esteem crisis for being less metropolitan than coastal states. More recently, Utah’s esteem seems to be booming as the world recognizes our outstanding communities, workers, and natural surroundings.

In short, Utah real estate, while feeling the pinch of the national ecomony (though less so than other areas), remains a viable industry and investment, and will continue so beyond the foreseeable future.

More great news!According to Forbes Salt Lake City is listed as one of the 10 cities where home prices are likely to rise. This is based on job increases and how overbuilt the cities have become after the boom years. (Article attached to this email)

Utah’s great economy is bringing more jobs and housing demand to the area.  Housing related jobs such as Residential Construction workers, Mortgage Broker/Officers, Realtor’s, Developers, & other related fields have seen declines.  These jobs that are down are only a part of Utah’s Job Market.  With demand slow but steady and the supply declining, the real estate market will slowly recover.

We will watch and see how these recent mortgage changes affect the demand.

It is a great time to buy!

Be careful and aware of the many types of fraud.  People in the Wasatch Front have and will be convicted of loan fraud, a Federal Offense.  Desperate to sell the oversupply of homes they get too creative.   You do not want to get caught in the middle of that mess. If you have any questions about a transaction we can help you check on the legality and liability potential.

Visit Kennen’s agent profile for more information.

Real Estate Update September 2008

An ever-changing market keeps it interesting!

Before I get into the statistics, I have to tell you how interesting the lending world is right now.  There have been some big changes.

First, the

down payment assistance program with FHA loans are gone

. 100% financing for conventional loans have not been available for months.  This popular loan type will be missed by some.  FHA, for now, does still allow the buyers family to gift the 3% down payment to them.  Closing this loophole, that allowed the seller to give money to the buyer through a third party, will strengthen the lending market in the long term.

Please spread the word to those you know.  New home owners will need 3% down for FHA loans and 5% down for conventional loans.  Requiring down payments for all borrowers will help both the lending and real estate markets stability.

If you are a landlord this is good news

. For many years now it has required less out of pocket cash to buy a home than to rent one.  Anyone with good credit could buy a home.  Now with the down payment requirement changes the rental demand will go up, as should the rents.

Other big news.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been taken over by the FED, because of their lack of capitol in this challenging lending market.  I understand changes have already been made on investor, non owner occupied loans.  The down payment requirement for these loans are now 15% up from 10% previously.  Loans with less than 25% down will be .5% higher on the interest rate.

The lending world has been removing loan programs for months as they tighten their belt in effort to reduce the high number on loans in default.  They now feel the risk is too high on some of these loan programs.  There are many great loan programs available with historically wonderful rates in the 6% range. Talking to a lender before you shop for a home is more important than ever.

Please take the time to let your friends and family know about these changes.  It is our hope that first time home buyers will be informed and prepared to achieve the American Dream of home ownership.

Visit Kennen’s agent profile for more information.